Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Dolphins waive Anthony Armstrong

When Anthony Armstrong caught 44 passes for 871 yards with the Washington Redskins in 2010, it looked like the Miami Dolphins had missed out on a gem. After all, Armstrong spent all of 2008 on the Dolphins' practice squad before being waived the following year.

The Dolphins got a second chance to feel Armstrong's impact when they claimed the 29-year-old off waivers this September. However, Armstrong was unable to make much of an impact in his second stint in Miami, catching just three passes in five games before his release on Tuesday.

Armstrong caught one pass in the season opener against Houston and two more in Week 3 against the Raiders, but he was also credited with five drops and was inactive in Week 8's victory over the Jets, giving way to the recently-signed veteran receiver Jabar Gaffney. (Gaffney nearly tripled Armstrong's season yardage output of 12 with one 30-yard reception this past weekend.)

It's a disappointing end to Armstrong's brief second go-round with the Dolphins, as he was expected to at least fill a much-needed role as a situational deep threat. That being said, the Dolphins are sitting fairly comfortably at 4-3, despite a rookie quarterback at the helm for nearly the entire season.

As for Armstrong's replacement, the team didn't make a corresponding move Tuesday but will likely do so Wednesday. I wouldn't necessarily expect the addition of another wide receiver, such as Jeff Fuller or Brian Tyms from the practice squad. The Dolphins are pretty set right now with the four guys they are dressing on game days, and rookie Rishard Matthews is already on the 53-man roster as a fifth receiver who is inactive each Sunday. (Though they could always bring back Legedu Naanee...just kidding.)

I also wouldn't expect a quarterback addition to the active roster regardless of the severity of Tannehill's injury, as the Dolphins have been dressing just two of their three all season and a Tannehill absence would just mean Pat Devlin dressing for the game behind Matt Moore.

More likely, the Dolphins will sign someone at another position where guys are banged up right now, such as the defensive line, linebacker corps or secondary. Or, they'll add another body to Darren Rizzi's shining special teams unit.

Stay tuned Wednesday as I'll have coverage of the Dolphins' corresponding move.